Hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling home for Christmas via land, sea and air this weekend will not be rewarded with a white Christmas, according to Met Éireann . John Downesreports.
Christmas Eve is expected to be wet and windy in most parts of the country, before it clears later in the day.
Siobhán Ryan, a forecaster with Met Éireann, said the air flow was going in the wrong direction for snow to occur on the day itself.
Daytime temperatures over the next while are also expected to remain in single figures, she added.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) described Dublin airport as busy yesterday, but said the DAA had put in place extra personnel to cope with demand.
The airport expects that some 230,000 passengers will have passed through its doors between yesterday and Christmas Eve, with passenger numbers easing off to about 45,000 on that day itself.
"Everything is going fine today. The weather is good - which helps," she said. "There are a lot of happy homecoming scenes around the airport."
According to AA Roadwatch, the Christmas exodus on the roads had begun in earnest by yesterday afternoon.
Ronan Gilligan of the AA said all of the main cities, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, were busy yesterday. Commuter routes around suburban shopping centres are also expected to be extremely busy over the weekend.
Mr Gilligan said a lot of people may have taken a half day off work yesterday in order to get on the road with a view to spending the long weekend in their home towns.
There were reports of delays around Kildare, Longford, Moate, Galway, outside Athlone and at Ardee yesterday afternoon, he said.
The chief executive of the Road Safety Authority, Noel Brett, reminded drivers yesterday that in wet, foggy or icy conditions, they should leave more space between them and the vehicle in front.
"Drive at a speed appropriate to the weather conditions," he said. "Always wear a seat belt and ensure all passengers front and rear are wearing theirs too.
"Be responsible. Don't drive if you've been drinking."
Meanwhile, Erica Roseingrave of Bus Éireann said it expected to carry about 200,000 customers between yesterday and New Year's Eve.
However, Ms Roseingrave said the fact that Christmas Eve fell on a Monday this year meant departures will be more "staggered" over the weekend than was usual at Christmas time.
"People can decide when to travel," she said. "Bus Éireann will operate every day over the Christmas period with the exception of Christmas Day."
Bus Éireann has also put in place an extended late-night Nightrider bus service covering Dublin, Sligo, Donegal, Waterford and Galway, Ms Roseingrave added.
Iarnród Éireann - which along with Bus Éireann will introduce an average 5 per cent fare increase in January - said it expected up to 500,000 people to travel on intercity rail services between now and the new year.
A spokesman for the company said an alternative timetable applied over the Christmas period, from December 24th, 2007, to January 1st, 2008, inclusive.
"Customers are also advised to book early for intercity travel at busiest times at www.irishrail.ie and arrive in good time for train departures," he said.
"Customers should note that there are no intercity, Dart or commuter services on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day."
The Stena Line ferry company said it expects to carry 125,000 passengers and 34,000 cars between this weekend and January 3rd on five Irish sea routes.
A spokeswoman for Irish Ferries reported yesterday to be very busy, adding the firm expected this to continue over the coming days.